Climate advocacy group Clean Creatives has published an open letter urging Netflix to include “fossil-free procurement” in its ongoing EMEA media agency review, estimated to cover around $190 million in annual media spend.
Campaign reported in March that Omnicom, WPP, and Dentsu are in the final stages of contesting for Netflix's EMEA media account. Dentsu is the incumbent. Clean Creatives claims that following its acquisition of Interpublic, Omnicom now holds 120 “active or recent” fossil fuel contracts, while WPP has 82 , including BP, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, and Saudi Aramco and Dentsu 18, like Chevron, Repsol, and Shell.
Addressed to Netflix’s EMEA marketing head, June Sauvaget, CMO Marian Lee and chief sustainability officer Emma Stewart, the letter argues that agency selection should align with Netflix's own climate commitments.
“As creatives, filmmakers, and climate communicators, we are frequently inspired by the stories Netflix tells – and by the investments Netflix has made to tell them responsibly,” the letter reads.
“Our planet is at a tipping point, not just in terms of our climate, but in our culture. Fossil fuel companies, aided by PR and media agencies, are contributing to a misinformation crisis that is making climate progress harder to achieve. Netflix has invested real resources in decarbonising its supply chain. But the agency supply chain, where narrative power lives, hasn't been examined.”
Clean Creatives notes that more than 1,500 agencies worldwide have already signed its pledge to refuse fossil fuel work. "Choosing one of these pledged agencies is a low-friction, high-return climate action that is consistent with the commitments Netflix has already made," it added.
Signatories to the letter include Tori Tsui, senior advisor to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty; Samuel Rubin, co-founder of the Hollywood Climate Summit; and Michael Mezzatesta, founder of Better Future Media.
In November, Clean Creatives organised a similar open letter calling on the UN and Brazilian government to remove Edelman from its COP30 communications contract over its concurrent work for fossil fuel clients, including Shell and Chevron.
Netflix did not respond to Campaign Asia-Pacific's queries at the time of publication.
Read the open letter in full below.
Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific
